Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fatih!

As we enter the month of Harh, we feel the heat that comes with the changing seasons. The sun beats down and scorches everything it touches. The days stretch as the month passes. We adjust to this slowly. We find ways to cool ourselves. But what of our internal heat?

Guru Arjan Sahib in Barah Maha says:

The month of Harh seems scorching to that human-bride with whom IkOankar, the Spouse, is not present;
for those who, having forsaken the all-Pervading Being, the life-Giver of the world, have relied on the support of a human being.

When we are wrapped up in other love, in duality, when we rely on other people to bring us comfort, we end up turning away from IkOankar, the One. We forget the One, the Spouse, and we find ourselves at a loss, full of forgetfulness, burning up from within.

In this state of separation, we are fearful of death, of loss, of what will happen to us.
In this state, we waver, affected internally by the external, unable to find a sense of steadiness.
In this state, we pass these lives away, full of regret, hopeless.

But what can we do?
How can we find freedom in this world and the next?
How can we find coolness within?
How can we become steady even in the harshest of conditions?

It is those who meet IkOankar, the One within themselves, who practice remembrance and experience the Presence; they find freedom and coolness within.

This week, we honor the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Sahib, who endured extreme hostility, hardship, and torture with grace and steadiness. Made to sit on a hot plate, the Guru endured that heat, that unending heat, with poise, with love, with gratitude. Absorbed in the love of that Beloved Spouse, full of remembrance, the Guru was devoid of fear, pain, or duality.

Guru Arjan Sahib’s martyrdom is a testament to his own words about the heat of Harh, and the internal steadiness, poise, coolness, and devotion that one can cultivate to prepare for any kind of heat, any kind of pain, any kind of suffering.

This week, in remembrance of Guru Arjan Sahib, let us reflect on the ways we might be burning within.

What does the heat of our separation feel like?
What is keeping us in a state of forgetfulness and duality?
And how might we ask for poise and coolness?

May we draw inspiration from the Guru’s resolve, grace, and devotion.

May we seek refuge in the eternal Wisdom, just as he did.
May we see only the One, and no other.
May the Wisdom-Guru Guide us!